Ned Lamont, other East Coast governors push feds on wind power

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, left, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, center, and Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo, right, speak to the media after a meeting to discuss matters of regional interest in July at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic. (Susan Haigh / AP)

Gov. Ned Lamont and the governors of four other East Coast states are urging federal regulators not to put any additional roadblocks in the way of the country’s nascent offshore wind industry.

The governors of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Virginia joined Lamont in a letter Tuesday to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that said offshore wind power will help strengthen America’s energy independence while creating thousands of jobs.

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The group, including Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, said they're disappointed by a recent decision to delay final permitting of the planned 84-turbine Vineyard Wind project.

“While we support assessing and mitigating impacts of large-scale offshore wind development, we are disappointed that this review has adversely affected the timeline for the Vineyard Wind Project," the governors wrote. “Like other industries, it is critical that states and the federal government establish and maintain clear regulatory timelines so as to incentivize the necessary capital investment.”

An Interior Department spokeswoman said the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is working to develop a permitting timeline for the project.

Connecticut officials are in the midst of plans to overhaul the State Pier in New London to make it hub for the delivery of offshore wind turbines. And the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection earlier this month released a request for proposals for offshore wind power to add to the state’s power grid, seeking up to 2,000 megawatts of energy, which is roughly the same amount provided by the Millstone nuclear power plant in Waterford.

“Vineyard Wind’s project marks a significant milestone in the US offshore wind industry transitioning from an important niche project off Block Island to a full-fledged, grid-scale industry," Lamont said in a written statement. "As Connecticut has advanced substantially over this last year in purchasing wind power, enabling and soliciting a greater share of our electricity supply from that source, and working with the Port Authority to enable New London to become a premier hub for installation, the success of Vineyard Wind’s first major project is an important step for the entire industry and for our state. New England and the Northeast is united in a strategy to diversify our energy sources with zero carbon alternatives that drive economic co-benefits. To that end, we support each other’s projects and are enthusiastically behind this first one.”